Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
He doesn’t let me finish.
Before I can blink, Jack lifts me off my feet. Strong arms holding me tight, he kisses me deeply, with the same urgency and relief coursing inside me. I wrap my legs around his waist, entirely unbothered by the hundreds of spectators.
I’m wholly at peace with my decision. Absolutely confident that for the first time in months, I know where my heart is leading me.
I pull back to peer into his gorgeous eyes. “According to one of her letters, Josephine’s mom always told her that the heart never leads us astray. I think she was right.”
He ponders that, then flashes that cocky Aussie grin that never fails to make me melt. “I mean, it makes heaps more sense than the heart being a bloody windmill.”
That cracks both of us up. Our hungry kisses become intermingled with bursts of laughter, which is our relationship in a nutshell, I suppose. But I love it. I love him.
I tear my mouth away again. “I’m sorry I took so long.”
“I would have waited,” Jack whispers against my lips. “As long as it took. You were always worth it.”
APRIL
EPILOGUE
OUR TIME IN SYDNEY ENDED TOO QUICKLY. I MEAN, I COULD definitely have done without the enormous bugs that look like they crawled out of some radiation experiment gone horribly wrong, but overall, the city was beautiful, and Jack’s family was wonderful. I had a very long flight to fret about what would happen if Jack’s mom hated me, but from the moment we walked in the door, Traci Campbell was warm and welcoming.
The only snag—once I confessed to being Gunner Bly’s daughter, the conversation took an awkward turn. Traci sent Oliver up to the attic for the box of vintage memorabilia from every single Australian concert or appearance my dad ever did. Turns out Jack’s mom was a superfan back in the day. Obsessed, actually. Charlie made a crack about their mom getting a shot at Gunner, and they proceeded to spend the week teasing us that Jack and I were going to end up stepsiblings if we let her near him.
Needless to say, Charlie isn’t my favorite brother.
It’s good to be back in London, though. For starters, it was nearly impossible to get a second alone while we were staying in a house with Jack’s mom, younger sister, and two of his three brothers. We found out real quick that the walls in the house were too thin to enjoy our new official status as a couple.
Now that we’re home, we can’t keep our hands off each other, much to Lee’s dismay.
Lee wasn’t quiet about his objections when we called a house meeting to lay it out for them. The words or else were thrown out quite a bit during his tirade. But we’ve assured him that this isn’t a fling counting down to a fiery expiration date. With everything we’ve been through already, I’d say we’ve both had ample time to figure out what we want. This is it.
Which means I’m now giving serious thought as to how I might permanently transfer to Pembridge to finish my degree. With summer fast approaching, I’m not ready to be an ocean away from Jack. I might need to call Dr. Wu for his advice on how to break the news to my poor dad. But hey, at the very least, that confrontation can’t possibly be as difficult as the one I had with Nate the other day.
He and I met up not long after I got back from Sydney. Swapped stories of our trips, talked about his plans for traveling this summer. He said he misses me. I think maybe he was testing the waters to make sure I’m not having second thoughts. I assured him I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and content with my decision. In the end, I think he’ll be happier on his travels going it solo. Nate’s a free spirit. He can’t be bound. I have a feeling that eventually we would have held each other back from our true paths.
Saying goodbye was hard, though. And literally a day later, there was another goodbye in store for me. After yet another house meeting, we agreed it was time to part ways with the tiny terror monster that prowls our house, his feline lordship Hugh. A week as the cat’s sole caretakers almost broke Lee and Jamie. Leading the charge, Jamie whined that he wants his sex life back and he’s tired of explaining all the scratches on his body to his bedmates.
Lee, in a rare moment of maturity, announced he was going to be honest with Lord Eric and confess that he does not—and never has or will—raise show cats.
So we took a vote and unanimously agreed to give Hugh to Mr. Baxley. I swear the stuffy, reserved man I’ve grown to adore almost shed a tear when he saw the murderous feline’s furry scowl. Something tells me there aren’t two more perfectly suited companions.